// Week of October 22: Photos //
// Week of October 15: Curriculum Update//
You know the fall season is well underway when we’ve got apples and pumpkins in every corner of the classroom, when the leaves are starting to turn and the jackets are getting thicker!
We had a wonderful, sunny (if cool!) fall day at Abma’s Farm on Tuesday— the children had so much fun on the hayride, taking in the sights (we spotted several kinds of vegetables, four different kinds of tractors, and two tall beehives!), and, of course, visiting the animals. Thank you so much to our chaperones for helping to make the day a success!
We also had a visit from a real-life book illustrator, Sheena Raja. Ms. Raja, an HPMS mom, illustrated our current Book-of-the-Week. I Heart Art is about a young artist who is trying and trying to get her self-portrait “just right,” and is beginning to get discouraged... until she realizes that all of her efforts are, together, the truest picture of herself. She is all of of her art, and all of her art is a part of who she is. Our young artists in Silver Room find the story very relatable!
// Week of October 15: Photos //
// Curriculum Update, week of Oct. 9 //
Safety is the name of the game this week!
A few friends have asked if we will begin Show & Tell-- we will begin offering time for sharing once the current Silver Room community is really showing strength with ground rules and school safety. We're currently using our circle times to role-play and demonstrate ways to be safe and respectful in the classroom, and occasionally using portions of our recess time to practice walking to and from the building in a group safely. We're really looking to our classroom role-models to not just apply these safe behaviors themselves, but to help younger friends learn them, too.
Over the next few weeks, we will be practicing many of our emergency procedures, including our fire drills, shelter-in-place drills and the walk to our secondary location at Saint Anthony of Padua's on Monmouth Street. If you hear your child talking about their teachers taking them to church, this is why!
// Photos from the week of Oct. 9 //
//Curriculum Update: Week of October 1 //
It was a short week in Silver Room, but a sweet one!
We welcomed a new friend who has been getting a feel for the classroom and our daily routines-- welcome, James!
We also got to taste a range of apples: macintosh, gala, zestar, granny smith and honeycrisp. Everyone got to express which apples they liked a whole lot and which they thought were "just okay." Stay tuned -- our older students will have an opportunity to graph the opinions of the group next week.
We also honored HPMS' 12th birthday with a whole-school Peace celebration on the steps of the gazebo in Hamilton Park. We sang some HPMS favorites ("Peace Like A River," and "Light a Candle for Peace") and a new peace song ("All Together Now," adapted from the Beatles' version)- and then we headed to the park for a little extra play time.
Our Book of the Week this week was "Don't Need Friends," written by Carolyn Crimi and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. This book tells the tale of two surly junkyard animals who, below their gruff exteriors, still have feelings and a desire to connect with and care for others. It's a book that can be used to help children learn to notice faces and gestures to figure out how someone is really feeling, and it's great for prompting conversation about what are and aren't ways to be a friend. If Dog really is in a bad mood, why is his tail wagging so hard? And If Rat really wants to be alone, why does he keep checking on dog? It's also a great book to share with children who sometimes make mistakes while learning to form friendships. Rat may have been going about things the wrong way in the beginning of the story, but he figured it out by the end-- and that's what matters! Many thanks to Ms. Lynn, one of the Literacy Specialists, for giving this book to Silver Room the year we opened!
// Photos from the Week of Oct. 1 //
// Week of Sept. 24: Curriculum Update //
It’s been a week of welcome in the Silver Room!
On Monday, we welcome two new community members: young Ava, who is new to HPMS and Montessori, but who has some friends and cousins already at the school, and Ms. Carmen, our new assistant teacher! Ms. Carmen is also new to HPMS, but she has some friends at the school already, and she comes to us via Small World Montessori School in Fort Lee. We’re so glad they’re here!
Speaking of new and old friends, the children all got to meet their specials class teachers this week— Mr. Hassan for Early Childhood Spanish, Ms. Solange for Kindergarten Spanish, Mr. Colin for EC Movement and K P.E., Mr. Sebastian for EC & K Music, Ms. Kyoung for K Art (Ms. Kyoung also prepares art projects for the EC students, but these are integrated into the classroom art experiences). K Literacy groups have begun meeting with Ms. Tiffany and Ms. Lynn, and Ms. Michele kicked off Kindergarten Writers’ Workshop as well.
Our Book-of-the-Week this week is Strictly No Elephants, by Lisa Mantchev and illustrated by Taeeun Yoo. This picture book seems at first to be a gently silly story about the challenges of pet elephant ownership, but turns out not to be very silly at all. With simple text and warm illustrations, it carefully articulates the problems of exclusion and the gifts of inclusion. It also reminds us all that when things feel unfair, we can actively work to make things right — for everyone.
// Photos from the week of Sept. 24 //
// Curriculum Update for Week of Sept. 17 //
It’s been a tasty week in Silver Room, with lessons on parts of an apple and apple cutting activities, as well as a special apple tasting experience thanks to farm-fresh apples picked by one of our Silver Room friends!
One game we played at circle this week was the Silent Sign game, where you gab with friends until you spy the silent sign — a finger up in front of lips— and then you stop gabbing and make the sign, too. When everyone has become silent and is making the silent sign, we get to high-five because we’ve all won the game together! We also role-played interruptions and taking turns to speak, using some stellar kindergarten actors in the scene, to hilarious effect.
The UN International Day of Peace is on Friday, September 21, and we celebrate by singing songs about peace. We listened to “Light A Candle For Peace” and “Peace Like A River” this week, and we’ll begin practicing singing these songs next week as we get ready for the school’s birthday and peace celebration in October.
Finally, our Book of the Week was Happy in Our Skin, written by Fran Manushkin and illustrated by Lauren Tobia. This rhyming book celebrates our skin— its function (protection!), its quirks (goosebumps! dimples! birthmarks!), and, of course, its beauty.
// Photos from the Week of Sept. 17 //
// Curriculum Update: Week of Sept. 10 //
What a wonderful first week back for returning and K students! It’s been so much fun reconnecting with old friends and hearing about summer experience and sharing familiar works together, and welcoming new friends into the Silver Room fold. We have a few *brand new* friends beginning next week, and we can’t wait to welcome them, too!
Community meetings this week have focused on ways to keep Silver Room a safe and happy place to learn, from taking care works to taking care of each other. All of our community members agreed to help each other out and get help from teachers when needed.
A book we enjoyed this week was Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, by Peter Brown, which is a fun and beautifully illustrated story that really cracks the children up! Teachers also like it because it basically boils down to a message about self-regulation and knowing when/ where to be wild, and when/ where to reel it in. It’s a very relatable message for all our little Silver Room animals!
// Photos from the week of Sept. 10 //
// Yay! We are so glad you're here! Here's to a terrific new school year! 2018-19 //
// Week of June 4 //
// End of May //
// Field Day Fun! //
// May! //
// Earth Day Week! //
